Reflection

Reflection: His Mercy Holds Us All (Nov 6th, 2025, Year C)

/ nevermindthebuzzsocks / Leave a comment

Readings

Romans 14.7–12 – We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.’ So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Luke 15.1–10 – All the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. ‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’

Reflection

In our reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans, we read these powerful words:

“None of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.”

Paul reminds the Christian community that our lives are bound up with one another — and with Christ. We belong not to ourselves, but to the Lord who both lived and died for us, and who rose again. That means that every moment of our life, from beginning to end, is held within the loving sovereignty of God.

And because we belong to Christ, we are not called to sit in judgement over one another. Paul urges the church in Rome — and us — to resist the temptation to measure others by our own standards of faithfulness. For, as he says, “we will all stand before the judgement seat of God.”

It is a humbling reminder that the only opinion that ultimately matters is God’s — and God’s judgement, as the rest of Scripture shows us, is shaped by mercy.

This theme of divine mercy flows beautifully into our Gospel reading from Luke 15. The Pharisees and scribes are grumbling because Jesus welcomes tax collectors and sinners. And in response, Jesus tells two short but profound parables — of the lost sheep and the lost coin.

Each story begins with something missing — something that matters deeply to the one who has lost it. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to seek out the one lost sheep. The woman lights a lamp and sweeps her whole house in search of one small coin. Both characters search persistently, almost recklessly, until what is lost is found.

And when they find it, they rejoice. They call their friends and neighbours together to share their joy.

Jesus tells us that this is what God is like. God’s heart is not indifferent or distant. God is the one who seeks, who searches, who does not rest until the lost are brought home.

For us, that means two things:

First, it means that we ourselves are never beyond the reach of God’s mercy. However far we may wander, however lost we may feel, God never stops looking for us. There is no situation, no mistake, no failure that can place us beyond the light of God’s searching love.

Second, it means that we are called to share in that same spirit of mercy. Just as Paul urges us not to judge one another, so Jesus shows us a God who does not write anyone off. Our calling, as the Church, is to reflect that same generous heart — to rejoice when others are restored, rather than resent it.

It is tempting, sometimes, to be like the Pharisees — to draw lines between the respectable and the sinners, the found and the lost. But Jesus turns that distinction upside down. In his kingdom, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who think they have no need.

So today, as we gather around this table, we are reminded that we belong — not because we are perfect, but because we are found.

We come together as those who live to the Lord and die to the Lord, trusting that his mercy holds us all.

And we are invited to share God’s joy — the joy that bursts forth whenever what was lost is found, whenever grace triumphs over judgement, and whenever love restores what was broken.

Amen.

Reflection: Love is the Fulfilling of the Law (5th Nov, 2025, Year C)

/ nevermindthebuzzsocks / Leave a comment

Readings

Romans 13.8–10 – Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Luke 14.25–33 – Large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.’

Reflection

In our reading from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we hear some of the most beautiful and concise words in all of Scripture:

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

Love, Paul tells us, is the heart of the Christian life. All the commandments—do not steal, do not murder, do not covet—are summed up in this one word: love. Love is the debt that can never be fully repaid, because it is the very essence of who God is and what God asks of us.

But then we turn to the Gospel reading from Luke, and the tone seems altogether different. Jesus says,

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even life itself—cannot be my disciple.”

At first hearing, it sounds shocking—almost as if Jesus were contradicting everything Paul has said about love. How can the same Lord who calls us to love our neighbour also call us to “hate” our family?

The word translated here as “hate” is not about hostility or bitterness. Jesus is not commanding us to despise those we love most. Rather, he is using strong, even startling language to make a profound point: that our love for him must come first—before every other attachment, every relationship, every possession, even before our own life.

It’s not that we are to love others less, but that we are to love Jesus more.

In other words, Jesus is talking about love too—love of the deepest, truest kind. He is saying that if we want to follow him, we must love him so completely that every other love finds its rightful place beneath it. The love we have for family, for friends, for all those dearest to us, is not rejected but purified and strengthened when our love for Christ comes first.

This is what the first commandment means: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.” Jesus, as God’s Son and representative, calls us to that same all-consuming love. Nothing less will do—for God or for God’s Son.

It’s a hard saying, but also a hopeful one. Because Jesus doesn’t ask us to love in this way without first loving us himself. He who calls us to give up everything for him has already given up everything for us. He has borne the cross, surrendered his life, and shown us that in losing all for love, we gain everything that truly matters.

And so, when we put him first—when we choose to love him above all else—we find that we do not lose our family, our friends, or our lives, but receive them back renewed, enriched, and blessed. The love of Christ does not diminish our human loves; it perfects them.

Paul’s words and Jesus’ words, then, are not in conflict but in harmony. The love that fulfils the law and the love that demands everything are one and the same love—the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

And so, we end with hope: for all who respond to Christ’s call to love, however falteringly, will find that his generosity far exceeds our giving. The Lord never leaves us empty-handed. Those who give their hearts to him will find, as he promised earlier in the Gospel of Luke, that they receive “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

May God grant us grace to love Christ above all, and in that love to find life in all its fullness.

Amen.

Reflection: The Narrow Door (29th Oct, 2025, Year C)

/ nevermindthebuzzsocks / Leave a comment

Readings

Romans 8.26–30 – Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Luke 13.22–30 – Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’

Reflection

In our readings today, both Saint Paul and Jesus remind us that following God’s call is both a gift and a challenge — a journey shaped by grace, but also by perseverance.

In the passage from Luke, Jesus speaks of the narrow door — that striking image of a way that is not wide or easy, but one that demands attention, humility, and effort. He warns that not everyone who claims to know him will enter the kingdom, but those who strive to do so — those who live out his teaching, who seek justice, mercy, and love. The Christian path is not a broad highway of comfort, but a narrow way that sometimes asks of us courage, forgiveness, and sacrifice. It also one where, as Jesus reminds us, “Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

And yet, Saint Paul reminds us in Romans that we do not walk that path alone. When the road feels steep and the way unclear, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” Even when we do not know how to pray, or what to say, the Spirit intercedes for us — expressing to God the prayers we cannot form ourselves. What a comfort that is: that God’s own Spirit prays within us, guiding, strengthening, and transforming us so that we may be conformed to the likeness of Christ.

The narrow way, then, is not a test to be passed by our own strength, but a journey walked with divine companionship. The Spirit walks beside us, within us, drawing us closer to the heart of God. And as Paul assures us, “all things work together for good for those who love God.” Even our struggles, even our failures, can be woven by God into his purpose of love.

So, as we come to the Lord’s table today, we come not as those who have perfectly walked the narrow way, but as those who long to be shaped more fully by it. Here, in the bread and wine, we meet the One who has already gone before us — who walked the hardest road, and who now gives us his Spirit to help us follow.

May we have grace to walk that way faithfully, trusting that the Spirit intercedes for us, and that Christ himself welcomes us through the narrow door into the joy of his kingdom.

Amen.